! SF 255 




.B7 




Copy 1 






GRADING 




AND 




LABELING 




OF 




MILK AND CREAM 




ISSUED BY THE 




BOSTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 




AUGUST, 1916 



D. of D. 
JCT 6 1916 



SFzss 
37 . 



PREPARED BY THE 



COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE 



OF THE 



Boston Chamber of Commerce 



THEODORE N. VAIL, Chairman 125 Milk St. 

American Tel. & Tel. Co. 

GEORGE H. ELLIS, Vice-Chairman 272 Congress St. 

George H. Ellis Co., Printers. (Owner of Wauwinet Farm, 
which has the largest herd of cattle in New England) 

JOHN P. BOWDITCH Millwood Farm 

Farmer (Proprietor of Millwood Farm) Framingham, Mass. 

EDGAR W. J. HEARTY 40 Central St. 

Maynard & Child, Com. Merchants 

RICHARD HITTINGER 45 Elm St., Belmont 

The Hittinger Fruit Co., Growers 

JESSE B. HUBBARD 95 Milk St. 

Fitzgerald, Hubbard & Co., Stockbrokers 

JOHN C. RUNKLE 35 Wendell St. 

The Barrett Co., Roofing & Paving Materials 
(Owner of Cedarcrest Farm) 

JOHN C. ORCUTT, Secretary 177 Milk St. 



INTRODUCTION 

A report entitled "Investigation and Analysis of the Production, 
Transportation, Inspection and Distribution of Milk and Cream 
in New England," was issued by the Committee on Agriculture 
in July, 1915, as a result of its two years' inquiry into the situation. 

Three editions, totaling 50,000 copies, have already been dis- 
tributed and a fourth edition is in preparation. 

This "Milk Report" as it is commonly referred to, outlined the 
facts and difficulties of each phase of the industry. Six specific 
recommendations were made to overcome the difficulties: 

1. Grading and labeling of milk and cream. 

2. Establishment by producers of country receiving stations 
wherever practicable. 

3. Improvements and rearrangement in the present types of 
farming operations. 

4. Substitution of the open-car system of transportation for 
the leased car system. 

5. Several improvements for increasing the efficiency and 
reducing the cost of city distribution. 

6. Advertising the food value of milk and its derivatives. 

The Interstate Commerce Commission, after many hearings on 
the New England milk transportation methods early in 1916, has 
ordered the leased car system abolished and the per-can open-car 
system installed on October 1, 1916. 

The National Dairy Council has collected a fund and is beginning 
to advertise the food value of milk and its derivatives in many 
papers and magazines. The Massachusetts State Dairy Bureau, 
firms and individuals, are beginning to advertise in a similar way. 

Thus, two of the six recommendations are already being put 
into effect. 

2 



In this pamphlet, the first of a series, based upon the four 
remaining recommendations of the Milk Report, the committee 
will confine itself to describing in detail the system of grading and 
labeling of milk and cream actually in use in some of the cities in 
the United States, and making suggestions showing how all sizes 
and types of communities could adopt grading and labeling if they 
desire to do so. Comment will also be made on standardization 
and systems of buying in so far as they relate to the problem 
of grading and labeling. 

It hardly need be said that the grading and labeling of food pro- 
ducts is not a new idea. For many years the law has required that 
all feeds and fertilizer should be labeled to show their chemical 
analysis and that the containers should show their contents. Many 
states under their pure food laws require that certain packages 
shall be labeled to show the net weight and kind of contents. A 
short time ago several New England states passed uniform laws 
providing for compulsory grading of apples. 

The recommendation that milk and cream be graded and labeled 
is simply in keeping with the general trend toward better food 
and greater safeguards for the public health, combined with 
greater efficiency for producer, distributor and consumer. Nor 
will they be difficult of adoption by locality, firm or individual 
be they large or small. It is earnestly hoped that this pamphlet 
will be read with a view of seeing how one of the difficulties in 
the milk situation can be remedied without hardship to any and 
to the benefit of all concerned. 

The committee has drawn from many sources for the information 
contained in this pamphlet, and wishes to express its thanks to all 
those who have so courteously given their assistance. 



As in the Milk Report, the index in this pamphlet has inten- 
tionally been omitted, as the discussion must be treated as a whole 
and the various parts considered in their relation to the other 
parts if a clear understanding of the entire subject is to be ob- 
tained. For this reason, the reader is cautioned against reading 
one part and considering it to the neglect of the other related parts. 

3 



How Milk is Produced 




The Dairy Cow is a machine which manufactures or 
converts feed and labor into milk, calf and manure. 

The cow's heart pumps 
blood to all parts of the body, 
supplying large amounts to 
the udder. The blood is con- 
tinually replenished from the 
feed the cow eats. The light 
lines are arteries and the 
dark colored ones are veins. 

The cow's udder while 
similar to a large sponge 
in makeup, may be likened 
to an inverted bunch of 
grapes. The individual 
grape is similar to the hun- 
dreds of little cells in the 
cow's udder, around which 
are blood veins containing 
the blood pumped from the 
heart. These little cells transform the blood into milk. The little 
stem whi;h holds the grape to the main stem is like the duct which 
carries the milk from the cells to the larger gland which is similar 
to the main stem of the bunch of grapes. This large gland leads 
into the milk cistern or reservoir. 

By means of hand pressure or mechanical suc- 
tion, the milk is drawn through the teat from 
the milk reservoir. It is thought that part of 
the milk is manufactured at the time of milk- 
ing and a part during the intermediary period. 
Individual cows vary to a great extent, not only 
in the quantity of milk they produce but in the 
quality, that is, the amount of butter fat (cream) 
and solids not fat (skim milk.) See page 5 
diagram of the variation of these constituents 
in a quart of milk, also page 15 for description 
as to its meaning and effect.* 

*(For further study see description of milk making in the the first few pages of Decker's book on 
"Cheese Making;" McKay & Larsen's boo'c on "Principles and Practice of Butter Making;" Rose- 
nau'sbook on "The Milk Question;'' also the full discussion by Dr. Wm. Ernst of Munich in his book 
on "Milk Hygiene," published by Alexander Eger of Chicago. All students and those particularly 
interested should have these books.) 



Gland-Lobule — Small mass of tissue 
Alveoli — A small cavity-cell 




An enlarged quarter 
section of the udder 



VARIATIONS IN THE CONTENTS OF MILK DRAWN FROM THE COW 

Compiled from data on several hundred tests made by Hermann C. Lythgoe, Analyst of the 
Massachusetts State Department of Health. See page 15 



SCIENTIFICALLY 
CALLED 



Pat, 



Total < 
Solids 



Solids 
not 

FAT 



Water < 



ORDINARILY 
CALLED 




Skim 
Milk 



KNOW WHAT IS IN YOUR MILK AND CREAM 

Grading and Labeling tells the story — Demand it 
5 



THE SITUATION IN GENERAL 

The grading and labeling of milk is not a theory. In many 
places it is in practical use. It has proven to be a success in New 
York, the largest city in the United States. 

In 1913, New York City passed an ordinance requiring that all 
milk and cream should be graded by the City Board of Health and 
bear a label stating the grade.* The grades are A, B and C, and 
the label must state whether the milk or cream is raw or pas- 
teurized. Now, in doing this, New York had a big and difficult 
problem with which to contend at the outset. Its milk and cream 
supply comes from a wide area and a very large number of farms, 
over sixty thousand in number, a large percent of the milk and 
cream from these being collected at twelve hundred country receiv- 
ing plants. Four hundred and fifty of this number pasteurize the 
milk or cream when received from the farmers at the plant 
in the country. Shortly after New York adopted the system, the 
New York State Department of Health issued an order that all 
milk and cream sold in any municipality in the state must be 
graded and labeled. 

New York City is not the only municipality having official grad- 
ing and labeling. Other cities outside of those in New York State 
that have come to the notice of the committee as having such 
official systems are Newark and Jersey City, New Jersey; Rich- 
mond, Virginia, and Kansas City, Missouri. Other cities where 
milk is being graded, not because of any official regulation, but 
rather because of the demand for it, are Hartford, Stamford, Nor- 
walk and Bridgeport in Connecticut; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 
and a number of other places. 



*Present Standards for Grading in New York City 

Bacteria Count 
Before After Barn 

Pasteurization Pasteurization Score 

Grade A, raw Milk, 60,000 75 

Cream, 300,000 



Grade A, pasteurized Milk, 200,000 Milk, 30,000 68 

Cream, 1 50, 000 

Grade B, pasteurized, out- Milk, 300,000 Milk, 100,000 55 

side of city 1,500,000 in city Cream, 500,000 

Grade C, pasteurized, to 
be sold for manufacturing 

purposes only. No limit Milk, 300.000 40 

Cream, 1,500,000 
(All milk and cream except grade "A" raw have to be pasteurized.) 



Present Condition in New England 

In New England grading and labeling of milk and cream, out- 
side of the Connecticut cities mentioned, are practically unknown 
and, in those few places where they are practiced, there are no 
laws specifying standards for the grades under which the milk 
and cream are sold. Under such a condition the sale of milk and 
cream by grades is simply catering to the demands of customers 
and does not give them the protection they would receive were the 
standards established by law. 

On the other hand, inspection has, in many places in New Eng- 
land, been carried to extreme with little good results. Undue 
emphasis has been laid upon the inspection of equipment and 
methods employed in the production of milk while inspection of 
the product has been more or less neglected. Unnecessary require- 
ments to be observed in the methods of production have been 
enforced and in many localities there has been some duplication of 
inspection, while in other places there has been no inspection what- 
ever. Nevertheless, the milk produced in the latter places comes 
into direct competition with that produced in the sections where 
the inspection is rigid.* 

Such a condition is intolerable. The uninspected milk may or may 
not be fit for use. So may the milk coming from places where 
the inspection has laid emphasis entirely on the equipment 
and methods and not on the product. Under a grading system 
where there is proper inspection of the product, a purchaser of 
Grade A milk would be certain of getting that quality of milk. 
The milk under existing conditions may have a range of hun- 
dreds of thousands in its bacteria count, regardless of the enticing 
labels, "Selected Milk," "Inspected" and the like. 

Some Advantages of Grading and Labeling 

By having the container labeled to show the grade of milk or 
cream and whether it is raw or pasteurized, everyone is enabled 
to trade in the particular product which he desires to buy 
or sell , the producer or dealer can sell exactly the kind of milk his 
customer desires, and the consumer gets what he pays for. 

*The Report of the Special Milk Board of the Massachusetts State Department of Health 
contains an extensive summary of the character and extent of the local milk inspection in Massa- 
chusetts. The Massachusetts Legislature has ordered 4,000 copies printed, to be ready for dis- 
tribution late in 1916. Application for extra copies should be made to the Massachusetts State 
Department of Health, Boston, Mass. Also see article on "Bacterial Testing Versus Dairy Inspec- 
tion" by Dr. Charles E. North, in the American Journal of Public Health, 755 Boylston Street, 
Boston, Mass. Vol. 6, No. 6. 

7 



Food Value and Health Phase 

Milk and cream are one of our most economical and valuable 
foods. Good, clean milk and cream are, therefore, essential to the 
public health, and it is the duty of every community, large and 
small, to have its milk supply properly safeguarded. 

The health phase is not the only one to be considered. Greater 
cleanliness of the product is a real asset to the producer and dis- 
tributor. Greater cleanliness means a better product, and a better 
product commands a higher price.* 

The Milk Report on Grading and Labeling 

There are three facts the consumer should know about the milk 
he is buying. First, he should know what its sanitary character 
is, that is, whether it is loaded with bacteria or whether it is 
practically free from them. Second, he should know what its 
chemical composition is, that is, whether it contains very little 
cream or butter fat, or whether it is called rich milk. Third , he 
should know its age. Consumers should not buy milk a week old 
in the belief that it was produced only the day before purchase. 

The Milk Report pointed out how these facts can be determined. 
It suggested that every container of milk and cream should be 
labeled to show** 

1. Sanitary character, i.e., bacteria count. 

2. Butter fat content, i.e., amount of cream. 

3. Date of production. 

4. Date of pasteurization, if pasteurized. 

Already in the places where the law requires grading and labeling, 
all these facts are shown with the exception of the butter fat 
content. In some instances this is shown, but the law does not 

require it. 

Points the Law Should Cover 

Labeling milk and cream for its sanitary character, that is, show- 
ing Grades A, B or any other that may be established, thus 
showing the maximum number of bacteria permitted in the product, 
should be done under a licensing system, in the control of the local 
and state boards of health. A law should be enacted giving them 
power to make such rules and regulations for grading and labeling 
as they might consider advisable, after hearings and conferences 
with the parties affected or interested . 

*Page 45 of the Milk Report gives the essentials for making clean milk and cream. 

**Skim Milk, Homogenized cream, milk and cream powder, should be so labeled and 
their sanitary character indicated. In Homogenized cream, milk and cream powder, the butter 
fat should also be indicated. 



Labeling to show the butter fat content is not a subject of official 
health regulation. This is purely a commercial matter and com- 
petition will probably force all distributors to take it up, for it is 
not likely that consumers would buy an unguaranteed product if 
a product that was guaranteed could be obtained.* 

At present there are varying state requirements in New England 
as to the legal minimum chemical standard for milk. This mini- 
mum standard exists to protect the consumer against adulter- 
ation.** 

Labeling to show the date of production and the date of pas- 
teurization is probably another matter which would be taken care 
of by competition, and therefore |would require no legislation. 
It must be remembered, however, that the age of milk or cream does 
not necessarily indicate the quality, i.e., a milk or cream several 
days old which was clean to begin with and had been kept under 
proper refrigeration would generally be of a much better quality 
than a product a few hours old which had been kept at a high 
temperature. More emphasis should be laid on the final bac- 
teria count than on the age. 

The Change Must^Be Gradual 

It is not expected that the suggested changes could be made in 
a moment, nor is it desirable. They must be brought about 
step by step in order that they may be worked out to suit the 
conditions of the locality and that people may have plenty 
of time to understand them. 

Determining the Sanitary Character or Bacteria Count 

BACTERIA are minute organisms of vegetable origin which 
multiply rapidly in milk and cream because it is ah excellent food 
for them. When the temperature of milk or cream is 60° or more, 
moisture and heat conditions are created which are extremely favor- 
able to the growth of bacteria. Bacteria are, practically speaking, 

♦Legislation would have to be passed providing for the punishment of anyone guilty of selling 
milk or cream below the standard stated on the label, being understood that in some states the 
pure food laws do not include milk. It should also provide that where milk and cream were 
labeled the minimum chemical legal standard need not apply. 

♦♦Standards all over the country vary to a ridiculous extent. Report of Commttee "Official 
Dairy Instructors' Association" on variations governing sale of milk in 511 cities in the United 
States of 5,000 to 2.5,000 population shows: Solids not fat 8.5 to 9.5; Total solids 10.5 to 13; Fat 
3 to 3.7; Fat in cream 10 per cent to 25 per cent; Total Bacteria permitted 50,000 to 1,000,000; 
Temperature 45 degrees to 77 degrees F. Not salable 8 to 60 days previous to calving. Not salable 
3 to 21 days after calving. See page 5. 

Those interested should secure the leaflet of the Bureau of Animal Industry, U. S, Dept. of 
Agriculture, issued on May 1, 191G, on "Legal Standards for Dairy Products." Also see "Milk 
Report" page 41. 

9 



Type of milk and cream station receiving both 
A and B milk 








EXTERIOR 




INTERIOR 



1. Two compartment receiving tank on scales for Grades A and B 

2. Two compartment dump tank with separate pumps (3) 

4. Grade A tank 

5. Grade B tank 

( Nos. 4 and 5 cool the product and can pasteurize if necessary) 
10 




H 
Z 

o 
o 

o 

H 

o 

W 
H 

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g S3 

O N 

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PQ 



11 



found everywhere. They may come from ordinary dirt or dust, 
or from diseases such as typhoid, tuberculosis, diphtheria, scarlet 
fever and septic sore throat. 

The making of a bacteria count is not difficult when a person 
has been properly trained in a commercial bacteriological lab- 
oratory.* 

Making the Count 

Samples of milk or cream are diluted with sterile water, ninety- 
nine parts of water to one part of milk.** A small measured 
amount of the solution is placed on a glass plate four inches in 
diameter. Agar, a transparent gelatinous substance containing 
beef tea and other food to make the bacteria grow, is added. This 
fastens the bacteria in place. The plate is then placed in the incu- 
bator for 48 hours, at about the temperature of the human body. 
At the end of this time the individual bacteria have multiplied into 
colonies and it is a comparatively simple matter to count the num- 
ber of colonies present so as to ascertain into which grade the milk 
or cream will fall.*** 

It must be understood that the exact number of bacteria cannot be 
counted, but they can count them within ten to fifteen per cent, 
or close enough so that it can be easily ascertained if milk 
classifies under 10,000, under 50,000 under 100,000 or under 
1,000,000.**** 

Laboratory Equipment and Cost 

Laboratories can be installed for $250 for a small munici- 
pality and up to $5,000 for a very large city, including the cost of 
equipment, consisting of the necessary glassware, sterilizers, incu- 
bators, etc. 

It has been suggested that municipalities with populations of 
less than 20,000 could not afford to grade milk. This is not true. 
Any city or town with a population of 5,000 or more can afford to 
have its own grading station, and there are instances of cooperative 

*There are many places where young men and women can be trained to make bacteria counts 
in two or three months' time. 

**This is one of a number of ratios that can be used. 

***In examining raw (unpasteurized) milk, microscopic methods are sometimes used. Write 
New York State Experiment Station, Geneva, N. Y., for their technical bulletin No. 49 on "Count- 
ing Bacteria By Means of a Microscope," sometimes termed the Breed Method. Another is the 
Slack Method, which is described on pages 327-33 in the "American Journal of Public Health 
for 1910." 

****See Reprint No. 295 from the Public Health Reports, U. S. Public Health Service, issued 
August, 191.5, fur Prof. H. W. Conn — treatise on "Standards for Determining the Purity of 
Milk." 

12' 








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So 

cO — 

D_ LlJ 

qc:li_ 
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55 



13 



arrangements between five to ten cities and towns under which 
they combined to maintain a laboratory where the grading of milk 
for all places was done. Such an arrangement materially reduces 
the cost. 

A city of five million people reports that the per capita cost each 
year for grading milk is two cents. Another city of 300,000 in- 
habitants reports a per capita cost of 2% cents per annum, another 
of 156,000 inhabitants states it costs only 3 2/10 cents per person 
per annum, and a city of 38,000 figures it costs 7 \i cents per capita 
per annum. It is certainly not unreasonable to ask a city to spend 
what amounts to two street carfares each year for each inhabitant 
to protect and safeguard something so important to the public as a 
city's milk supply. The experience of cities where grading 
has been adopted furnishes conclusive proof that no city 
can properly refuse to grade its milk on account of the cost.* 
Number of Grades 

Obviously, if a grading system is to be thoroughly workable and 
practical, there must not be too many grades. Experience in other 
places has already demonstrated that three grades are sufficient for 
a city's milk supply and they are usually designated as Grades A, 
B or C, raw or pasteurized as the case may be.** Some places 
have tried to have a grade lower than C, others have used such 
terms as "inspected," "guaranteed" but this has not worked out 
well in practice. 

*For further information as to these cooperative laboratory arrangements see Milk Report, 
page 48, also write the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Biology and Public Health . 

Arrangements have been made by the Franklin County (Mass.) Farm Bureau in coopera- 
tion with the Massachusetts State Dairy Bureau, to open in September of 1916 an educational 
laboratory to do bacteria counting for milk sent in by the people of that county. 

Many milk dealers are today running bacteria counts in their country milk stations. Some 
of these stations handle enough milk to warrant their maintaining their own laboratories, but where 
such is not the case arrangements have been made for one laboratory to care for the milk 
received at three or more stations, thus cutting down the per station cost to a reasonable amount. 
Such plants are located at Oxford, Kelton and West Grove, Penn. ; and FAIR HAVEN, VERMONT . 
Secure July, 1916, edition of "Milk Reporter," published at Sussex, N. J., and see page 12 for letter 
of Dr. Haven Emerson, Commissioner of Health of New York City, giving list of the many country 
Grade A plants supplying New York City. 

Grading and labeling are adaptable to both city and country conditions of all kinds. 
They can be successfully carried on even in communities where a relatively small amount of milk 
is produced, and there are few sections where, within a radius of ten miles the milk produced by 
twenty to forty farmers cannot be collected at one place. 

**Pasteurization. Many leading authorities are in favor of the pasteurization of all milk, 
while some are opposed to it. It is true that in cities a large percentage of the milk and cream is 
pasteurized, but this is, after all, a matter which should be left to the decision of the local boards of 
health. 

Scientific pasteurization is heating the milk or cream to 145 degrees and holding for twenty-five 
to thirty minutes. It kills the harmful bacteria from such diseases as typhoid, diphtheria, scarlet 
fever, tuberculosis and septic sore throat, and renders the product safe. For further information 
on this subject, read the article "Pasteurization of Market Miljv," by Prof. Otto Hunziker in the 
June (1916) number of "Trie Milk Trade Journal," published in Waterloo, la. Write Albert Lea, 
State Creamery, Albert Lea, Minnesota, for Bulletin No. 63 of the Minnesota Dairy and Food 
Department on "Pasteurization of Cream for Butter Making." 

14 



Bacterial Limits 

The local boards of health in consultation and cooperation with 
the State Department of Health should determine the bacterial 
limits to be allowed each grade. It would not be wise to attempt 
to set any standards as to the number of bacteria allowable in a 
particular grade for all sections of the country, because of the varying 
conditions not only in production, but in distribution and con- 
sumption. Each state and community should set its own standard, 
but they should aim to have these standards as nearly uni- 
form in their essentials with those of other communities 
and states as conditions will permit. * 

Some might object that in having only three grades, milk and 
cream of varying qualities might be sold under one grade classi- 
fication, if the bacterial count did not exceed the legal maximum. 
This is not an objection. It simply means there could be several 
degrees of excellence in one grade. For instance, if Grade A milk 
had as its maximum legal bacterial count 60,000, those producers 
and distributors who had milk averaging under 10,000 could, and 
undoubtedly would, advertise that fact. 

Butter Fat or Cream 

Milk is composed of butter fat, milk sugar, casein, albumen, ash 
and water. (See diagram, page 5.) It has been found that the 
constituent of milk which varies the most in a given quantity is the 
butter fat. In 100 pounds of milk the butter fat or cream, as the 
consumer probably knows it, has been known to vary from two and 
a half per cent to eight per cent, but the usual variation is from two 
and eight-tenths per cent to five and five-tenths per cent. This 
variation has been caused by the developments of breeds, such as 
the Ayrshires, Jerseys, Holsteins, Guernseys and the like. The 
scientific causes are not essential to this discussion, but the fact 
remains that the variation exists.** It is very desirable, therefore, 
that milk and cream should be tested to determine their degree of 
richness, i.e., butter fat content. 

♦Those interested in the detailed requirements and regulations as to grading and labeling of 
milk and cream should write to the New York State Department of Health, Albany, N. Y., and 
the other cities mentioned, for copies of their regulations. 

**For further study on this point see U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Animal 
Industry, Bulletin No. 157 on "Variations in the Compasition and Properties of Milk from the 
Individual Cow;" Bulletin No. 156 on "The Influence of Breed and Individuality on the Composi- 
tion and Properties of Milk;" Bulletin No. 155 "The Influence of the Stage of Lactation on the 
Composition and Properties of Milk," all these Bulletins by Prof. C. H. Eckles and Prof. R. H. 
Shaw, also Textbook on "Milk Hygiene" by Dr. William Ernst of Munich. 

15 



MAKING BABCOCK TEST FOR BUTTER FAT CONTENT 




No. 1. Drawing sample No. 2. Filling test bottle No. 3. Adding (17.5 c.c.) 

(17.5 c.c.) sulphuric acid 








No. 4. Whirling in Bah- No. 5. Adding hot water No. 6. Reading the butter 

COCk Tester (5 min.) ( Jt is then whirled another min.) f a t content 




No. 7. Butter fat 
column in grad- 
uated neck of 

the bottle 



No. 8. Babcock test 
traveling outfit 

16 



No. 9. Steam tester for 
large plants. 



How to Test for Butter Fat 

Twenty-five years ago, a machine known as the Babcock Tester 
was invented to determine the butter fat content of milk or cream. 
A composite sample of the milk or cream is thoroughly mixed and 
a certain amount of this is then mixed with an equal amount of 
sulphuric acid. The acid dissolves the casein and sets the butter 
fat free. This mixture is placed in the machine and is whirled 
for five minutes. Water is added and a consequent whirling in 
the machine forces the butter fat into the graduated neck of the 
testing bottle and the percentage of fat can readily be measured.* 

Butter Fat Determines the Commercial Value 

Because of the great variation now found in the composition of 
milk and cream,** many dealers are buying on the butter fat basis, 
that is, in purchasing one hundred pounds they pay for the value 
of the butter fat content plus the value of the skim milk. 

The solids not fat — milk sugar, casein, allbumen and ash — plus the 
water which we ordinarily call skim milk do not vary as much as 
the butter fat content, and the commercial value of skim milk 
which comes from a 3 per cent milk is practically the same as that 
from a 4 per cent or 5 per cent milk, although the milk sugar, casein, 
albumen and ash content may vary to some extent. 

Commercially cream' is the most valuable part of the milk, and 
it is therefore essential that the percentage of cream in milk should 
be known. This is particularly true when you stop to consider two 
facts. First, the greater part of all milk produced is used for man- 
ufacturing purposes, only a small part being sold as whole milk, 
or for home consumption. Second, the milk that is not sold as 
whole milk, but rather for manufacturing purposes, is converted 
into cream and its derivatives. It should also be noted that milk 
carried by distributors as a surplus is converted into cream, butter, 
cheese, condensed milk, etc. 

State Standards for Butter Fat, Solids not Fat and Total 

Solids 

Many states long ago established legal standards for milk and 
cream, requiring that the product should contain not less than cer- 

*The cost of the machine is low and within the reach of almost everyone, the expense of ]both 
machine and equipment ranging from $5 to $35, according to the size. In order to officially be 
regarded as a milk tester, one has to receive a certificate from a state college of agriculture, which is 
obtained after an examination. Make application to your State agricultural college for further 
detailed information. 

**It is practically impossible to obtain pure butter fat (cream) from milk — always some 
skim milk (solids not fat) is in combination with the cream (butter fat). The grades usually run 
from 10 per cent to 44 per cent pure butter fat. 

17 



tain stated amounts of the various constituents. This was all 
right for the old fashioned cow, but now some of the breeds will not 
produce milk containing the requisite amount of butter fat.* As 
we have already said, the amount of butter fat in any cow's milk 
is determined by nature. Change or increase in feed may increase 
the amount of milk, but it will not materially affect its butter fat 
content. The milk may be perfectly good, but man arbitrarily 
rules that because nature and breeding have put less butter fat 
into a certain cow's milk the product of that cow shall not be sold. 
Why should a man be deemed a criminal for selling milk of a low 
butter fat content, when it is the pure product of a healthy cow? 
The object of the law, of course, is to prevent in general the undue 
lowering of the standard of the butter fat content of milk. But is 
it not evident, that this end can be much better accomplished 
by grading, and after all is not the consumer the one to 
decide what grade of milk he wants? That is if a purchaser 
wants to buy 1 per cent milk, he should be able to, as long as he 
knows that he is getting only 1 per cent milk. 

Standardization 

Mixing milk and cream to obtain a butter fat or cream content 
of a certain definite known per cent is what is known as " standard- 
izing. " At the present time many states have laws which seem to 
prohibit such a process, as they say that nothing shall be taken 
from, or added to, the natural cow's milk. These laws were 
passed to prevent watering of milk, but now they obviously 
work an unnecessary hardship.** 

This is a condition which should not be allowed to continue. 
The law should be changed to permit the standardization of 
milk and cream . A provision stating that standardization could 
be performed only by the addition of cream, milk or skim milk 



*Some have suggested that farmers having herds testing below State standards should buy 
cows testing high in butter fat to bring their milk up to standard. It is not sound judgment 
to advise farmers to mix their herds. They should specialize on some one breed and let 
the milk produced be sold for what it is worth. It is also true that there is a legitimate 
demand for milk testing under 3 per cent fat as there is over 3 per cent fat. 

**In making its investigations preparatory to issuing the Milk Report, the committee 
found that one of the main difficulties in the way of solving the problem of the milk situation 
was the lack of a standardized product. The committee, in its report, said: 

"The value of a particular quart of milk or cream depends on its cleanliness and the percentage 
of butter fat and solids not fat which it contains (see diagram on page 5). These percentages 
vary greatly with different quarts. Butter fat can be readily measured when the farmers offer 
their product to the dealer, and the farmers or dealers can, by proper mixing or standardizing con- 
trol it in the product which they offer to the public. These percentages, together with the clean- 
liness of the product, should govern both the price paid by the consumer and that received by the 
producer." 

18 



would still safeguard the public against the watering of milk, for 
by means of the refractometer any appreciable amount of water 
added can be readily detected.* 

There have been some objections to standardization, particularly 
among small distributors and producers, who claim that they can 
not afford to standardize their milk, and that their business there- 
fore would be thrown into the hands of the big dealers. Within 
the past few years machinery for both standardizing and 
pasteurizing milk has been put on the market at a cost so 
low that the small dealer can now pasteurize and standard- 
ize his milk practically as efficiently as the large dealer. 

Methods of Standardization 

Milk may be standardized in three ways. 

First — by mixing milk of high butter fat with that of low butter fat, thus 
obtaining a more uniform butter fat content. Example: Forty farmers send 
in 100 quarts of milk each. The milk from twenty farmers contains only three 
per cent butter fat. The milk from the other twenty contains four per cent 
butter fat. The dealer desires to sell three and one-half per cent milk. By mix- 
ing the milk from all forty farmers, he obtains a product containing three and 
one-half per cent butter fat. 

Second — by adding cream to raise the standard of the milk or by adding 
skim milk to lower the standard. Example. If milk is received testing only 
three per cent butter fat, and the dealer desires to sell three and one-half per 
cent milk, he adds enough cream to bring the milk to that standard. If the 
butter fat content of milk is too high, he simply adds skim milk in sufficient 
quantity to reduce it to the desired standard. 

Third — by separating all milk as soon as received into cream and skim milk. 
The cream and skim milk are then mixed to give the milk or cream the standard 
desired. 

Any of these methods may be used, but the latter two seem to 
be most favored. Some large distributors claim that the last 
method is best, on the grounds that it is more efficient and econom- 
ical than the other two.** 

You will probably recall that earlier in this pamphlet it was 
stated that standardization of milk and cream is illegal. It is, but 
regardless of this fact, most of the cream and a considerable portion 
of the milk supply of the country is standardized. There is no 
good reason why it should not be, for, as has been pointed out, the 
old objection of health officials that permission to standardize 
would allow watering does not hold good, for the refractometer will 

*Write the Dairy Division of the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture at Washington, D. C, for addition- 
al information as to the use of the refractometer and other methods of determining added water. 
♦♦Tables and formulas are issued by which one can readily figure how much skim mi Ik or cream 
needs to be added to milk or cream of a known butter fat content to make milk or cream of a certain 
desired butter fat content. Apply to your State Agricultural College for information as to methods 
of standardizing. 

19 



readily detect any such adulteration. It is to be noted that in some 
European countries the standardizing of milk is legal, and in such 
places milk from 1 per cent butter fat up can be purchased. 

Adopting the Grading and Labeling System 

The average consumer, and he constitutes a very large per cent 
of the country's population, does not take very kindly to a sudden 
change from any system to which he has been accustomed to 
another which is new to him. This is not at all strange. Usually 
he opposes the change because he knows little or nothing about 
the new system and is, therefore, naturally cautious in adopting it. 

The process of educating the public to a full understanding 
and appreciation of the value of grading and labeling could prob- 
ably be best conducted through those agencies which represent 
the consumers, distributors, health officials and producers.* 

Illustrated Lectures 

Mere talk on a subject like this does not usually go very far. 
People like to see with their own eyes what is being done in other 
places. Seeing is frequently believing, and if you can visualize 
your argument, you have gone a long way toward convincing the 
average man. 

Following out this thought, illustrated lectures have been pre- 
pared showing in an exhaustive way the details that can only be 
touched upon in this report. They point out graphically the pres- 
ent problems of the community's milk supply and how the introduc- 
tion of an official system of grading and labeling will help to solve 
them; what the effect will be on the consumer who buys at whole- 
sale or at retail, and what the effect will be on large dealers, small 
dealers, large producers and small producers.** 

Changes Have Taken Place 

Improvements in refrigeration, rendering possible long hauls of 
milk and cream, and the developments in the use of milk and cream 
for manufacturing purposes, have brought about many changes in 
the industry in the last few years. Changes and developments in 
any industry bring up new problems which must be met and solved 
and although they have arisen in the milk and cream industry, they 
have neither been met nor solved. 

*They are the commercial associations, the consumers' associations, women's clubs, loca 
boards of health, milk dealers' associations, milk package exchanges and producers' associations. 

**The committee has prepared slides and a lecture on the grading of milk and cream. Many 
state and local departments of health, as well as agricultural agencies and private in.lividuals_have 
similar data and are able and glad to assist in disseminating this information. 

20 



Appoint a Committee 

A committee should be appointed to secure information con- 
cerning the details of operating a laboratory, and to decide after 
suitable investigation, what the limits of bacteria count for the 
local grades should be. This committee should preferably be 
composed of representatives of the local board of health and con- 
sumers', distributors' and producers' associations. The final step, 
of course, is the passage of an ordinance establishing official grading 
and labeling. 

Buying Milk from the Farmer 

Methods of buying milk from the producer are mentioned here, 
as they have real bearing on the grading and labeling of milk and 
the way in which it is sold to the consumer. In studying the milk 
situation, the committee found that milk was bought from the 
farmer in twenty-five to thirty different ways, and that this varia- 
tion caused a great deal of dissatisfaction. * Unless there is a uniform 
method of purchasing milk and cream, some farmer who is produc- 
ing a better grade is certain to be the loser, while if there is uni- 
formity, those farmers now doing business in a more or less slack 
way and, therefore, producing only a medium product, will be 
stimulated to do better and turn out an improved product. 

Principles to be Followed 

The committee believes that the following principles should be 

laid down and followed: 

1. The farmers should own their own cans.** 

2. Milk and cream should be bought from the farmer by weight. 

3. Prices paid should be so much for the butter fat or cream, and so much for 
the solids not fat called skim milk. Prices should also vary according to 
the bacteria count.*** 

*See " Milk Report" pages 20 and 21. 

**This would generally only apply to places where the farmers send their product to a milk 
or cream station in their immediate vicinity. Owning the cans, the farmers are more careful of 
them and in not having to bear the expense of supplying cans, the dealers should be able to pay the 
producers a little more for their milk. 

***Several methods are used — see any edition of "The Milk Reporter," published at Sussex , 
N. J., for Borden system of buying. Address Turner Centre Dairying Association, Auburn, Maine, 
for their annual report showing their system. Brief Summary of System Quoted: 
Turner Centre Dairying Association, Auburn, Maine. Prices based on butter fat and skim milk content. 
Average prices paid 1914 Butter Fat .35 a lb., skim milk 47-1/ 12c per hundred lbs. 

1915 Butter Fat 35-l-6c lb., skim milk 42 Vis par hundred lbs. 

A Spokane, Washington Dealer, 1916, Prices based on butter fat content and bacteria count. 

-Number of Bacteria- 



50,000 35,000 25,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 

Butter-fat to to to to to to Below 

per cent 75,000 50,000 35,000 25,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 

3~6 15% 15% 16 16 % 17 % 18% 20 cts.pergal. 

37 16 161/1 16% 163/ 4 i 7 3/ 4 19 20% 

3 8 16% 163/4 17 17V 4 18% 19 21 

39 17 17% 17% 173/4 183/4 20 21% 

to 17% 17 3/4- 18 18% 19% 20% 22 

Borden Pkices. Summer Contract Prices, 1916. Short Haul-Eastern Route 

Butterfat %3 3 13 4 3.5 13.6 3.7 3.8 ] 3.9 14.0 4.1 !4.2 |4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 14.8 4.9 5.0 
April SI i 40 1 i:43,i:46! 1.4911.52 1.55 1 .5S| 1.61 1 1.64 |l. 67 |l. 70 1.73 1.76 1.79 i 1 . 82 1 1 . 85 1 .88 1.91 

21 



HOW THE BOTTLE CAPS LOOK NOW 

Present Methods of Labeling Milk and Cream in New England 



MILK 




SPECIAL 

SELECTED 

,o MILK <^ 





CREAM 






LIGHT 

CREAM 



No statement or guarantee as to cleanliness or quality- 
Just take what you get 

2-2 



HOW THE BOTTLE CAPS OUGHT TO LOOK 

Statements that should appear on the caps and should be demanded by you 

MILK 







CREAM 





GRADE-A 
EO^o FAT 

STANDARDIZED 
PASTEURIZED 

1* The label of each milk and cream container should specify the grade — A and B or C-^-and 
the per cent of fat, if the product is standardized. This could easily be done on the cap inside of 
the centre circle, leaving the outside space for such matter as date or place of production, pasteuri- 
zation, average number of bacteria count, from what breed of cows, medical certification, etc. But 
every label should show the sanitary character and the per cent of butter fat where the product is 
standardized, and if it is not standardized, the statement that the product is above the legal 
standard. This can be readily done by any producer or distributor. 

23 




Complete Knowledge Necessary 

Complete knowledge of some of the more essential principles and 
facts is necessary if order is to be brought about. The points of 
which there should be greater knowledge are: 

1. Composition of milk and cream and their products. 

2. Various demands for the butter fat content in the dif- 
ferent lines of trade. 

3. Variance of the butter fat content in the milk of cows 
according to the breed and individuality of cow. 

4. Standardization; what it is and why it is necessary. 

5. Process of making bacteria count and the Babcock test 
of milk. 

6. Need of uniform legal standards for milk and cream, and 
labeling to show the sanitary character and butter fat content.* 

Instruction Essential 

It should be the duty of agricultural and other agencies interested 
to inform the public on these points, both by the distribution of 
literature and by instruction in schools. Certainly, very little 
progress can be made in putting the industry on a sound basis until 
the farmer and the general public have a thorough understanding of 
the product, the demand for it and the ways in which it is consumed. 

The Public Should Demand Grading and Labeling 

It has been previously stated that under an official system of 
grading and labeling, producer, distributor and consumer alike 
know exactly what they are dealing in. Milk and cream should 
be labeled to show the sanitary character or grade and the 
butter fat content or cream value. The various trade names 
such as light, medium, heavy, breakfast or coffee cream 
mean little. With the different dealers they describe varying 
percentages of butter fat and the consumers frequently receive a 
product from ten to twenty-five per cent less in butter fat than they 
believe they are getting. There is practically no other commodity 
bought and sold in the slipshod way that milk and cream are bought 
and sold. Producer, distributor , and consumer alike should 
demand and work for a grading and labeling system. 

♦Resolutions were passed at the 1916 Annual Meeting of the Vermont Dairymen's Associa- 
tion requesting their President to appoint a committee to cooperate with similar committees to be 
appointed by the other State dairymen's associations to draft uniform laws in regard to dairy 
matters. Resolutions were passed in Washington, D. C, May 6, 1916, by a meeting called by the 
Natonal Dairy Union and National Dairy Council that "a committee should be appointed by the 
Secretary of Agriculture to frame a set of uniform rules and regulations for handling milk and 
cream," and that "it is the sense of this conference that all products so made should be so marked 
as to disclose the materials used in their manufacture." 

24 



COST OF EXTRA COPIES OF THIS 
PAMPHLET 



Special prices are made for supplying extra copies of 
this pamphlet in quantities, with name of distributor, 
imprinted on the cover, as suggested below, as follows : 





On a basis of 

printing 5,000 

at one time 


On a basis of 

printing 10,000 

at one time 


On a basis of 

printing 20,000 

at one time 


Lots of 


100 


$4.80 


$4.70 


$4.65 


n <i 


200 


8.55 


8.40 


8.25 


" " 


500 


17.75 


17.60 


17.25 


" " 


1,000 


34.50 


34.00 


33.00 


ct u 


2,-000 


68.50 


66.00 


65.00 


U « 


5,000 


172.00 


162.00 


157.00 


w u 


10,000 






310.00 



GRADING 

AND 

LABELING 

OF 

MILK AND CREAM 



COMPLIMENTS OF 

First National Bank 

Cape, Mass. 



The last page of the 
cover, now blank, may 
be printed with any 
matter desired by the 
purchaser, for $3.50 in 
addition to prices listed. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



000 895 811 7 




